As the FIVB World League continues in June and into July, the 32 teams in Group 1 competing for the title have more at stake than pride and a trophy. Although many coaches and players will make light of a post-Olympic World League with focus being drawn to more future events, there is real money at stake. The winning team will be awarded one million dollars, the same figure as 2016 per the Argentinian Federation of Volleyball.
The winning federation can divide that million however they want, but let’s say everyone gets the same lump of cash: that’s $50,000 per payee, which can be a big incentive for players who aren’t stars drawing million-dollar salaries.
Back when the competition first began, with just eight teams involved, there was a total purse (so including individual awards, pool play, etc.) of one million big ones. In 2017 – as previously mentioned – that sum is what goes to just the winning team. In total, there’s three ways that participants earn cash now: winning/losing a match, positioning in pool play and final round ranking.
According to World of Volley, the last confirmed number for wins/losses was $9,600 for a victory and $4,800 in defeat back in 2015. However, it is unknown if those same marks are used for Groups 2 and 3.
The positioning in pool play also reeled in lots of money for different teams. World of Volley noted that in 2015, group winners got $250,000 with subsequent finishers getting similar amounts. The total amounts in 2015 sit at $250,000 for first, $200,000 for second, $150,000 for third and $100,000 for fourth. However, in 2015 there were just two groups and a total of eight teams in Group 1. The 2017 version of the tournament sees teams play in three different groups that rotate from week-to-week. Additionally, there are 12 teams instead of eight. In 2017, the pool play position goes as follows:
Group 1 – Pool Ranking Prize Money
- 1st Place: US$ 83,000.00
- 2ndPlace: US$ 66,000.00
- 3rd Place: US$ 50,000.00
- 4th Place: US$ 33,000.00
Group 2 – Pool Ranking Prize Money
- 1st Place: US$ 49,800.00
- 2ndPlace: US$ 33,200.00
- 3rd Place: US$ 24,900.00
- 4th Place: US$ 16,600.00
Group 3 – Pool Ranking Prize Money
- 1st Place: US$ 19,920.00
- 2ndPlace: US$ 16,600.00
- 3rd Place: US$ 13,280.00
- 4th Place: US$ 9,960.00
Therefore, if you were in Group 1 and finished first in each of your three pools, you would receive $249,000, similar to the payouts back in 2015.
Winners of the overall tournament get even more; beyond the seven-figures for first, second gets $500,000, third receives $300,000, fourth is awarded $150,000 with fifth and sixth both getting $75,000.
So let’s say a team in Group 1 wins all three of their pools, goes 9-0 in the process then wins two matches in the Final Six and are crowned FIVB World League Champs. That’s one million dollars for winning it, an extra $249,000 for the three pool victories and $105,600 for the 11 wins. Add it all up and that’s $1.35 million. Divided out over those 20 payees that rises up to $67,730 per person, a nice chunk of change to say the least.
In total, the FIVB World League shells out $7.5 million per the FIVB.. A chart on the World League Volleyball payouts also noted that in 2016 Group 1 teams earned about $3.9 million while Group 2 accumulated about a $1.8 million payout with Group 3 around $1.3 million. In 2017, the payout goes as follows:
- Group 1: $2.088 million (Group) + $2.1 million finals
- Group 2: $1.12 million (Group) + $0.5 million finals
- Group 3: $0.358 million (Group) + $0.18 million finals
Essentially, the total payout was $7 million in addition to $100,000 for individual awards.
Some may scoff at the significance of a post-Olympic World League with many of the biggest names from around the world taking the summer to rest, but not many would scoff at the amounts of money the tournament awards. As the 2017 FIVB World League continues, these teams will earn higher and higher amounts. And at the end of the day, that final prize of one million dollars – in addition to the other ways to earn money – provides a very nice incentive for everyone involved.
Leave a Reply